When we headed back to Epcot, we had to run for a bus which was not necessarily a bad thing… at least we didn’t have to wait! (In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a "glass half full" kind of girl.) We walked through Futureworld and then had to run to catch the Friendship boat. No need to as we soon discovered when the captain boarded with us (apparently they were in the middle of a shift change). By the time we got to the American Gardens Theatre it was raining pretty hard… thank goodness our reserved seating was under shelter. Again Ben protested having to wait for a “dumb show” but once it started, he was quite entranced. Good show (though it’s not something I would pay Broadway ticket prices to see).

What worried me was that we left the theatre area only to hear the announcement that the 6:15 presentation of Tapestry of Dreams was cancelled. I couldn’t miss one of my two favorite things at WDW due to a little rain (though I did want the CMs to be safe)! A little worried, we headed over to Teppanyaki for dinner. None of us had ever been at this type of restaurant and we were looking forward to the experience. The hostess gave Ben —master paper airplane builder— an origami frog. He was absolutely enchanted. He tried to strike up a conversation with two older boys (maybe 9 and 11) seating next to us in the reception area but they weren’t interested. In maybe 10 minutes, we were seated with these very same boys, their dad, and a mom and son (who did talk to us) who live in the same town as my stepbrother. Our chef was very good (Ben —who actually likes to watch Iron Chef— pronounced him “the best chef in the whole world”) but your tablemates really contribute to making or breaking your experience at this restaurant, which is a shame because the restaurant staff can’t control how their guests will interact. The food was wonderful, and Ben attacked his rice (with ginger soy sauce no less) with great vigor (this is the same child who tells me he's allergic to rice here at home). He loved his dinner and so did we. The food was very good and we enjoyed conversing with the mom and her son, but the rest of the people at the table were duds (sorry if you’re reading this…). In contrast, the table right across the way from us was having a grand time interacting among themselves, the wait staff and the chef. Oh well! I guess the only way to guarantee your experience is to bring 7 of your friends with you! (Any one game for the week of December 8?)

It wasn’t until we were outside that I remembered that I had left both my Intercot baseball cap and some shopping (I bought so much this trip that I don’t even remember what was in this particular bag [img]graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] ) at our table. I went back to retrieve them, and when I went outside to meet Mallary and Ben, they announced that ToD would be starting in just a few minutes. [img]graemlins/clappy.gif[/img] Needless to say, I was thrilled. We staked out a spot, but then spotted an even better one along the railing along the lagoon. We ran across the street as the first floats headed out the entrance next to Morocco. Mallary and I had both made wishes and deposited them in the Dreamcatcher’s basket (what can I say, we're children at heart). This was my little celebration and I was so very glad to be there and alive to enjoy it! I sang along the whole entire thing, and danced with Ben. Lots of the puppets visited us and it was truly enchanting. (I listen to the album constantly and played it at least once during every single day of chemo —my treatments lasted hours and hours.) A first for me: I didn’t cry; instead I smiled deliriously the whole way through. I was in Epcot heaven! [img]graemlins/muscles.gif[/img] Tapestry of Dreams ended way too soon, but then we headed over to look for the AP viewing area in front of Italy.

Even if you don’t have an AP, the areas immediately next to the AP viewing area are great spots to see Illuminations. We got there early so Mallary and Ben went off to see if they could visit some more Kidcot stations. I sat and chatted with a woman from Georgia who was there with her grandchildren (no, not our Becky). We had a bench to sit on and watch Illuminations (but I game my seat up for a pregnant woman), and Ben shared some Tootsie Rolls with the CMs and the other kids while waiting for it to start. I hadn’t had dessert at the restaurant and got a tiramisu from the stand at Italy. It was very good. [img]graemlins/tasty.gif[/img] (A shrink would have a field day with this… an emotional eater who doesn’t have a strong emotional response when she has food in her mouth [the whole food as non-prescription Valium thing]. I know that people from the Diet Club can relate, but the rest of you just think I’m totally [img]graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] , which I probably am.)

It was then time to leave Epcot but knowing that we will be back in December made it much easier to say goodbye. We had a great bus driver back home (Milt was his name) and he told jokes the whole drive to OKW. As we were the very last people on the bus, he parked it and let Ben sit in the driver’s seat!

All in all, another great day at WDW! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[ July 04, 2002, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: ElenitaB ]